A steel roll bar will give crush protection but can have limitations, as they can cause injuries in themselves, being very unforgiving when they strike or land on the rider on the ground. Because of this, Ag-Tech Industries of Dargaville has come up with an entirely new concept which has been developed and tested over the past 18 months. . .

The difference is that it is not a hard, ridged roll bar, but is passive and flexible, and will deflect around a person’s body, limbs or head on impact, but will not collapse, and still hold a quad up off the ground to provide crush protection for the rider.

This product won the New Zealand “Golden Standard” Agricultural Invention of the Year award in 2012 because of the benefits it offers to farm safety and improvement to industry.

The secret of the Lifeguard invention is that the arc is made from individual segments tensioned together by cables, enabling it to flex and move on impact, but it also supports tonnes of weight. . .

The Lifeguard won the “Golden Standard” Agricultural Invention of the Year award at the Mystery Creek Fieldays last year.